While the Sony Santa Monica umbrella spans many games via its external development collaborations, its internal studio is best known for the God of War franchise. In fact, Sony's "God of War team" has never worked on a game outside of that iconic franchise. Santa Monica Studio director Shannon Studstill talked about the studio's attempt at moving away from Kratos, and what ultimately brought them back to the franchise with next year's Ascension.

Given how God of War 3 ends, it provided a perfect opportunity for the team to give Kratos a rest. However, when asked if the studio had explored creating a non-God of War game, Studstill frankly admitted "yes." In fact, there were even prototypes developed "very early," albeit "not in this development cycle."

Studstill was not shy admitting that the franchise's tremendous success is one reason why the studio has yet to move on. "There are creative reasons and business reasons," she admitted. Adding, "I think there was still some story to tell."

There's an opportunity to improve upon God of War 3, she noted, especially because that was the first God of War game on hardware the team was unfamiliar with. "I think for the single-player game, there were systems that we wanted to enhance. Not to diss God of War 3, as that was tough to go from PS2 to PS3, but our focus for God of War 3 was very tools and engine-focused. And now what we're trying to do is catch up a bit in terms of systems we wanted to improve upon." Of course, there's also the addition of multiplayer, which she describes as a "completely different game" all by itself.

It's likely that seven years into the PS3's life cycle, Ascension will be the last PS3 game to come from Sony's God of War team. When asked about Orbis (or PS4), Studstill acts shy. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "The PS3 is a very powerful machine, and we definitely feel like we're taxing it, but it continuously surprises us."

Today we’re proud to announce that the God of War: Ascension multiplayer beta is officially coming to PlayStation Plus on 9th January. To whet your appetite in advance, have a look below at our brand new trailer.

So, for all you PS Plus subscribers, I guess you’ll want to know exactly what you’ll be playing in the beta?

A visceral, larger than life, online combat experience for starters. We are kicking off the beta with our signature Team Favor Rush mode and the yet-to-be-seen Favor of the Gods mode, which plays like Team Favor of the Gods, but without the teams.

In both modes, you’ll fight to reach the requisite number of favor points from the Gods, earning points via kills, bonus brutal kills, opening chests, capturing domination points, and, if you’re skillful enough, performing executions using the Spear of Olympus.

You’ll hopefully have seen the Desert of Lost Souls map, featuring our massive Titan, Polyphemus. In the beta, you’ll get your chance to go head-to-head in this epic map.

But that’s not all! THIS IS GOD OF WAR! God of War: Ascension multiplayer levels are broken out into two categories – larger maps, which feature large open environments, like Desert of Lost Souls, and more compact arenas, which bring the action in tight to test your reflexes as you fight for survival in close-quarters combat.

Fans of God of War III will remember the Hercules Arena – considered one of the most epic moments in the God of War franchise – and we’re really excited to introduce our tribute to this, the Forum of Hercules Multiplayer Arena level.

The beta will also provide you with the chance to play through our tutorial level, which is an epic experience in itself. You’ll be able to test your might with both Zeus and Ares allegiances, and experience a taste of the player customisation options and upgrades that will be in the final game.

Keep in mind, this is the beta stage of our development, and the team at SCE Worldwide Studios - SCE Santa Monica Studio will be working daily – up until the very last second – to provide you with a truly incredible experience. We value your feedback, and this is where YOU can help to make this game ascend to even greater heights for our release in March. See you in the beta!